CHANGING CANCER CARE IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
Baylor Scott & White McClinton Cancer Center - Waco
New and innovative programs benefit
patients at the McClinton Cancer Center
Lymphedema is an occasional side
effect of cancer treatment. With certain
types of cancers, nearby lymph nodes
are sometimes removed along with
tumors during surgery. This may lead
to lymphedema, an accumulation
of lymphatic fluid beneath the
skin. Characterized by swelling and
discomfort, lymphedema can occur
immediately after surgery or years
later. The new program offers patients
courses of care to treat the condition.
The integrative medicine service
will be available to all
patients, not just those
with cancer. It includes
massage therapy, Reiki,
“We would not be able to take
and dry-needling, with
care of our community—our
expansion plans to
family members, our friends, our
include acupuncture
neighbors—without philanthropy.”
and aromatherapy. A
music therapist is on
— Joni Watson
staff, as well, to help
patients in the healing
process through artistic
expanding our services and staff to expression that includes singing and
meet our patients’ needs, and we’re so listening to music. “These are things
grateful to be able to do this thanks in we don’t do in place of modern
medicine,” says Mrs. Watson, “but in
part to the generosity of our donors.”
In the fall, the center is adding addition to it.”
new programs in lymphedema and
integrative medicine to complement Expansion in 2016
existing medical and radiation services. A second-floor expansion in the
hen the Baylor Scott & White
McClinton Cancer Center
opened in November 2013,
it brought comprehensive cancer care
to the Baylor Scott & White Hillcrest
Medical Center campus in Waco.
Since that time, physicians, nurses,
and other caregivers have logged more
than 34,000 patient appointments—a
higher number than expected at
this point. “The last two years have
been growing years for us,” says the
center’s director, Joni Watson. “We’re
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THE CATALYST December 15 | sw.org
cancer center is ahead of schedule to
accommodate the rapid increase in the
number of people being treated for
cancer. More exam rooms, infusion
chairs, and office space for newly hired
physicians and support staff will occupy
3,600 square feet of space purposefully
left vacant when the center was built in
2013. A demonstration kitchen to host
support group meetings and classes on
nutrition will be added as well, since
maintaining good nutrition is related
to better patient outcomes for many
cancer diagnoses.
Plans are in place to hire an
additional nurse practitioner and a
third medical oncologist, along with
support staff. By next summer the
center also will add long-term cancer
survivorship services. “We want
to make sure patients are as healthy
as possible well past the time they
finish their cancer treatments,” says
Mrs. Watson.
A transformational gift
The McClinton Cancer Center is
named for Paul McClinton and his
wife, Carol. A grateful former cancer
patient, Mr. McClinton made a sevenfigure gift to the center on the day he
completed his treatment in December
2014. (See Issue 22 of The Catalyst